June 20th, BC Area rides have a chance to meet Simon Pavey of Race to Dakar (http://racetodakar.com/) and trainer to the stars Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman for Long Way Round.

Waking up at 8 am wasn’t too much of a stretch, however, I could feel the effects of the day before as my left arm and shoulder was suffering from tendonitis. While Joe went off shooting some video and photos around Kaikoura, I did a bit of Yoga stretching to try to alleviate the pain in my shoulder.

June 12th, 2009 comes like a postcard from the future. On the Isle of Man bikes charge down a straight, throttles full open, riders fully focuses, and the crowd cheering on the entrants. There’s something missing though, you can hear the sound of tires on tarmac, but were is the thunder of twins and raw-whine of inline fours at full chat… they’ve been replaced with the whir and instantaneous torque of racing gone electric. Welcome to the Isle of Man, home of the TTXGP the first “World's First Zero Carbon, Clean Emission Grand Prix” - in short, electric.

The Mission One takes a spin of Infineon Raceway north of San Francisco before shipping out to race the TTxGP green motorcycle gran prix on June 12 race on the Isle of Man. Where 19 bikes from 17 teams from 6 different countries, will tackle one of the most challenging road circuits in the world.

Auckland traffic was messed up. Though we got up quite early, there was no point rushing to leave until the traffic cleared up. We had it pegged at around 9:30, but even when we reached the main road, it still was clogged back all the way up the bridge. No reason could be found for this massive backlog, except the fact that we’re in Auckland, home of the extremely messed up.

x9epclOneWheelDrive.Net (http://OneWheelDrive.Net) have gotten impatient. Well, that and our 640 Adventure is waiting for parts, so can our long term loaner Hypermotard stand in?

If the 2009 BMW K1300GT and K1300S have a hallmark over their previous 1200 incarnations, it’s progress. But, trumping the slatherings of electronics, enhanced mechanicals, improved braking, and revised suspension may be… switch gear.

Clear, the morning starts at freezing and is slow to warm, as I ride into the jagged boundary between Alberta and British Columbia. The ying to Newfoundland’s aged, rounded and spare yang, the Rockies complete Canada’s parenthesis of spectacle.Climbing the 93 into gray skies we reach Continental divide, the split of North America’s lopsided fraction. On the eastern side water journeys across a continent to the Atlantic, on the West it courses across British Columbia to the Pacific.

We pass over bridges spanning empty river beds, their parched rocks hungry for a taste of mountain water. This small reminder of how dry the season is and could reach critical if the weather continues on the same path. The road so far is good condition, and much better than we expected. Corn grows on this coast, but somewhat stunted compared to its kin growing in the center of the island. Cars are few, and houses even fewer, mostly tourists, on the same quest as us, as well as a handful of keen motorcyclists like ourselves.

The remainder of the “Forgotten Highway” was an interesting scenic ride, yet we were both fixated on our hungry hungry hippos and the dashing sheep that were straggling on the road.

There it is, the scrape of hard knee puck plastic against pavement - proof positive of the Ducati Monster 1100S’s prowess. At coffee shops the world over Monster owners will high-five over lattés celebrating what great riders they are, the truth is in the bike though. With a new chassis, revised air-cooled twin, and trick high-end suspension the 2009 Monster 1100S is a huge leap forwards in refinement from its precursors, making dragging a knee about as hard as sliding off a chair.

Our arrival to Matamata the day before, two hours from Auckland, allowed us to start our journey West to East, riding the fattest bit of the North Island. The weather forecast called again for no rain, lucky for us! We managed to get an early start, and headed south west towards Te Kuiti. Our cunning plan to follow the back roads was thwarted by the damned Garmin box, squawking at us to turn left and right at imaginary roads until it wrote it's will at the dead end adjacent of a long impassable lake.

I’m skimming over a thoroughly potholed logging road in the shadow of the Chief just outside Squamish, BC. Below me is the Konker KSM200, a diminutive supermoto and one of the first wave of the storm of Chinese motorcycles to reach our shores. You might not be familiar with Konker, but the Langley, BC importer has been in business for 5 five years and boasts some 72 dealers Canada wide.

Fancy testing a Beemer? BMW's Demo Rides are sweeping Canada, including special ladies only rides, so take a look at the schedule and contact your local dealer to book.

Toronto, ON (15 April 2009) - Ducati North America is pleased to announce the 2009 Ducati Canada National Demo Tour, an opportunity to sample the 2009 model lineup while supporting the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Your favourite supplier of orange outrage has some good news to share, KTM Canada, and Travelers Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company, have partnered to introduce the Power Product Financing providing consumer finance options. Good news for those looking to put a little green into the act of bleeding orange. That's big news because in an time of belt tightening a number of motorcycle manufacturers are feeling the pinch as finance companies shy away from this industry. Full release follows.

Your favourite supplier of orange outrage has some good news to share, KTM Canada, and Travelers Acceptance Corporation, a consumer finance company, have partnered to introduce the Power Product Financing providing consumer finance options. Good news for those looking to put a little green into the act of bleeding orange. That's big news because in an time of belt tightening a number of motorcycle manufacturers are feeling the pinch as finance companies shy away from this industry. Full release follows.

An RCMP officer, Cpl. Benjamin Robinson, accused of killing a motorcyclist and then fled the scene has failed to have a driving ban lifted. As always, of late, when dealing with the RCMP there is a veil of half-truths, misdirections and indications that the punishment likely will not fit the crime.

An RCMP officer, Cpl. Benjamin Robinson, accused of killing a motorcyclist and then fled the scene has failed to have a driving ban lifted. As always, of late, when dealing with the RCMP there is a veil of half-truths, misdirections and indications that the punishment likely will not fit the crime.

Dawson, Yukon - At the Dawson Music Festival the beer garden has become a beer swamp, sporting an ankle deep covering of mud. Taking no half-measures in testing the gear, I’ve ridden just over 4000kms on and off road from Vancouver, BC to get here and I’ll be damned if I’m ruining my good shoes. Dressed in my “adventurer” Alpinestar Tech 3 All Terrain Boots I’m slopping through with complete disregard to the conditions and a certain creative fetishistic look in these dancing shoes.